LATEST | Trade suggestion with the Blues: Canucks would be taking a MAJOR step in their retooling

PUBLICATION

Felip Gosselin
April 28, 2023 (1:37 PM)

SHARE THIS STORY

We're now entering the off-season where a lot of work awaits Canucks' management. Expect to hear lots of trade speculation on top of free agent rumors as the Canucks will try and fill specific holes in their roster.

The Canucks have made it clear they'd be attempting to solidify their defense and also listed a 3rd centerman as a top priority.

The following trade proposal is purely speculative as it was drawn up on CapFriendly, however we thought that the idea of a trade like this might gather interest since the Canucks would be filling one of the Canucks' biggest needs:

VANCOUVER �-> ST. LOUIS

Ethan Bear (RFA)
Conor Garland ($4.95M AAV)
Connor Lockhart (Unsigned Prospect)
2023 3rd Round Pick - Vancouver

ST. LOUIS �-> VANCOUVER

Colton Parayko ($6.5M AAV)

Canucks would be acquiring Parayko, a 6'6'' and 229 pounds defenseman. Known to be an excellent two-way defender he was part of the Blues' edition that won the Stanley Cup in 2019. Given that Tyler Myers is moved, the team's defensive core would then be much better as the top 3 would be made of Quinn Hughes, Filip Hronek, and Colton Parayko. Adding pieces like Akito Hirose, Cole McWard, Christian Wolanin, Guillaume Brisebois, Oliver Ekman-Larson, or perhaps Filip Johansson to fill the three spots left would definitely give great hopes for the future.

Parayko is big, hard to play against, and has won the cup but his contract only expires once he will have turned 36. He's steadily produced about 30 points on average since his career started, but he's truly made his name with his defensive play.

Ethan Bear has grown into an important piece in the Canucks' defense, but moving him to the Blues to acquire Parayko is a really important upgrade. Moving Conor Garland is a task Allvin has to do in order to free up some cap space, it'll also give a roster spot for one of the young up-and-coming forwards in the likes of Nils Hoglander, Vasily Podkolzin or Aidan McDonough.

Looking back, would this be a good deal for the Canucks? They'd acquire an experienced veteran in the midst of his prime years, while his contract still has lots of terms on it, would it be a fair price for the Canucks?

SOURCE:Cap Friendly